Welcome! Welcome!

This week, I've decided that you all could do with a refresher on what BioConnections actually supplies, all of it! This means all of the companies we supply products for, their areas of expertise and more! Let's get started. 

A German-based company founded in 2002, specialising in providing rapid & robust CE-IVD tests to aid in the diagnosis of microbiological infections. Their Eazyplex system combines isothermal amplification with real-time detection. This is all supported by the eazyMini, a tabletop device that can provide you rapid results for common and rare infections in as little as 25 minutes.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/amplex-home

If you've worked in a microbiology lab, you've probably used chromogenic media to culture samples on. CHROMagar supplies the widest range of chromogenic culture media, and we supply it, in dehydrated format, across the UK. At BioConnections, we supply dehydrated media as it helps simplify logistics and gains flexibility in transportation & storage. It can be shipped at room temperature and stored in a cupboard. The product itself has a long shelf-life, minimising waste and ensuring you always have the plates when you need them most.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/chromagar-home

These folk are a leading expert in rapid in vitro diagnostics for human infectious diseases, and have been since 1996. Based in Belgium, Coris Bioconcept develops & produces IVD kits for respiratory, gastroenteric and blood-borne pathogens (bacteria, viruses and parasites). This is as well as serological assays, mainly based on immunochromatographic technology. Furthermore, the also produce antigen controls, a cornerstone of reliable immunoassays, offering distinct, yet complimentary, applications.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/coris-bioconcept

ERA are you one-stop-shop for anything and everything fungal. They provide lateral flow assays (FungiXpert), real-time PCR kits, the CLIA solution and ELISA tests. That's not all! They also provide the immunochromatography analyser and the FACIS machine. The FungiXpert range is a range of fungal diagnostic lateral flow assays, used for the detection of the most common fungal pathogens (Aspergillus, Candida & Cryptococcus) either qualitatively or quantitatively.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/era-biology

Erba Lachema (a subsidiary of Erba Mannheim) is a global in-vitro diagnostic company, providing affordable, automated testing solutions. Mikrolatest is their specialised line of microbiology diagnostic kits used in clinical laboratories to identify bacteria and determine their susceptibility to antibiotics. The Mikrolatest MIC offers a precise and quantitative determination of minimum inhibitory concentration of antimicrobial agents which inhibit visible growth of bacteria. The microdillution method is based on rehydration of antibiotics by suspension media in individual wells.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/erba

If you need a control, Microbiologics probably has it and more. You know when you go to IKEA and it kind of just keeps going? That's Microbiologics when you look at their full catalogue, it just keeps going. They have molecular controls, reference strains, parasite controls, syndrome-specific & system specific control panels. From individual organisms to quality control multiplex panels, Microbiologics genuinely have a control for everything.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/microbiologics

REAL is a brand name of Durviz, a Spanish manufacturer and distributor of laboratory products including molecular tests and parasite detection accessories. The Mini was launched in 2010, a smaller, quicker and cleaner solution with a small volume collection tube, requiring less reagent volumes. Following this was the launch of the Midi, a larger alternative with the same composition. What really sets these apart from the competitors is Total-fix, a fixative with no formaldehyde, PVA or mercury, that maintains the same fixing power. The Graham test, is a specialised, ready-to-use medical device that is designed to detect Enterobius vermicularis eggs in the perianal area.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/real-durviz

Rosco Diagnostica produces a comprehensive range of microbiology diagnostic products, designed for bacterial identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and resistance detection. Neosensitabs are tables manufactured using crystalline antimicrobials, resulting in no loss of activity due to degradation, controlled and uniformed release of antibiotics and reliable results at all times. Diatabs on the other hand have many advantages with rapid enzymatic and modified conventional testing, detection of natural susceptibility patterns or growth factor requirements. Diatabs can be used in combination with Neo-sensitabs, helping laboratories make rapid, accurate, diagnoses. Being widely used in clinical laboratories worldwide, Diatabs and Neo-sensitabs provide reliable, flexible and cost-effective methods for accurate microbiological analysis, improving patient outcomes.

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/rosco-home

SensID are a Microbiologics company, specialising in the development & manufacturing of reference material, and quality controls in DNA diagnostics. They are one of the few companies we supply that are not strictly clinical microbiology focused. They have a range of products such as reference materials/ quality controls, which have been precisely characterised and manufactured under the highest standards. SensID products are an ideal solution if you're in R&D, need to validate some instruments, been told by UKAS to use an external control, need to prepare for accreditation, run ring trials or conformity assessments, want to use them as part of a diagnostic test kit, or something else!

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/sensid-controls

If you're in the market for antisera for salmonella, shigella, yersinia or e.coli identification, look no further! To add to this sifin also product salmonella and shigella controls for slide agglutination. "Both salmonella and shigella reactions were noticeably stronger and easier to read with the Sifin antisera. We also observed that weak non-specific reactions with our existing antisera, caused by Hafnia alvei and E. coli (which would normally require further testing) were virtually eliminated with the Sifin antisera."- U.K Customer Testimonial

For more information: https://www.bioconnections.co.uk/sifin-diagnostics

And that's everyone! Next time we'll be back to your regularly scheduled programme, when I figure out what to do next. 

Welcome! Welcome!

We're back this week to talk about SensID and their genomic reference material! SensID are a Microbiologics company, specialising in the development & manufacturing of reference material and quality controls in DNA diagnostics. 

They produce a range of products such as reference materials/ quality controls which are precisely characterised and manufactured under the highest standards. 

SensID's products are an ideal solution for R&D, the validation of instruments, for use as an external control, in the preparation for accreditation, ring trials, conformity assessments, as part of a diagnostic test kit, and more!

In May 2024, SensID launched their metagenome control material, promising to revolutionise molecular healthcare through the rapid identification of thousands of microbes. The control material enables the detection of bacteria, DNA viruses, fungi and parasite all within a single day using next-generation sequencing and polymerase chain reaction platforms

This product is ideally suited for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) workflows. Especially for:

• Assay validation. This means that it can be used as a spike-in reference to confirm that the extraction, library preparation, and sequencing pipelines accurately detect low-abundance microbial DNA without high background interference. 
• Pipeline comparison. Datasets curated from SensID standards can be compared to bioinformatics tools to optimise pathogen detection algorithms (such as distinguishing true microbial presence from wet-lab contamination).